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Geek Cookery

Cook books and recipes were few and far between when I was growing up giving a certain novelty to both. Each family had its own blend of spices that gave their food a signature and almost impossible to replicate flavor.

Most learning came from watching mothers, aunts and grandmothers cook in their kitchens. They could not tell you how they worked the magic they did. You watched, immersed, absorbed and hopefully remembered what you had seen.

A modern day kitchen with it's mind boggling range of gizmos is likely to be full of cookbooks for food from around the world and yet the cook may be found googling eggplant recipes. Of the 2,030,000 possibilities that it throws up, not one will equal the taste of grandma's eggplant specialty because memories and nostalgia give food it's soul and not the most perfect recipe.

As much as I enjoy cooking the plethora of recipes out there tires me out. However this geek spin on cooking is interesting - it makes me want to look at familiar recipes in new light.

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